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The fashion industry is one where law plays a surprisingly large part. Without rules, then fashion as we know it might quickly collapse. Enforcing those rules requires the input of large numbers of fashion-specialising lawyers, whose business it is to understand exactly how law in the fashion industry works, and how it might be used to protect the interests of their clients.

What does fashion law cover?

Intellectual property covers quite a wide swathe of legal territory. Everything from a particular design to the company’s logo might be protected by copyright and trademarks and the like. But intellectual property isn’t the be-all and end-all of fashion law.

Fashion lawyers might also expect to spend their time dealing with various contracts and agreements. These might be between one company and another, or between a company and its employees and freelancers, or between a company and its distributors. A major retailer or label might have its own in-house legal team, or it might outsource to a specialist firm. Smaller businesses might have no choice but to go for the latter option.

How does it work in practice?

Fashion lawyers are busy people, and you don’t need to look far for examples of their work. In 2020, Chanel sued luxury goods reseller The RealReal, alleging that the latter was deceiving its customers by posing as if it had a formal association with the former, and that it was allowing the sale of counterfeit goods on the site.

In some cases, a brand might launch a defence of its practices proactively. For example, Steve Madden, the American shoe brand, filed against Yves Saint Laurent because it knew that legal action was going to be forthcoming in the other direction. It invited the court to declare that its shoes could not be confused with those of Yves Saint Laurent. This particular suit was dismissed following an agreement between the two parties.

Why does law matter in fashion?

The major fashion brands rely heavily on the designs they’ve come up with – and if those designs were not protected by intellectual property law, then the value of those brands would plummet. We can see this in theory – and in practice, in territories where the law isn’t applied quite so rigorously.

Imagine, for instance, if the famous three stripes used by Adidas were to be widely used. Adidas would suffer, since consumers would not be able to easily distinguish their products from those of other manufacturers. Similarly, the consumer would suffer, for much the same reason. The entire industry would suffer, because it would no longer be able to consistently reward manufacturers who consistently brought quality products to market for a price that consumers were willing to pay.

Adidas has, however, pushed this principle to breaking point in recent times. After much arguing by fashion lawyers, it was decided that three stripes are enough to signify that something is made by Adidas, but four are not!